Assembly guide
“Guide” in the toolbar opens the interactive assembly guide for the current project. Carcassist generates it from the configuration: a sequence of steps that can actually be built, with the piece in 3D as it must look after each step.
The view
- Left the steps, grouped by module (plinth, each carcass, drawer boxes, worktop). Done steps fade; a click jumps to a step.
- Centre the piece in 3D: everything built so far and, in orange, this step's parts. Back/Next sit on top of the 3D view and stay put while you page.
- Right what to do: description, the parts with their position numbers (the same numbers as the DXF bundle and the part drawings), the hardware with counts (dowels, PV connectors, Dominos, screws, shelf pins, hinges, runners) and the tools.
- The arrow keys page too; Esc closes. The step you are on is kept in the browser.
Who drills what?
At the top you choose, for four kinds of machining, whether the CNC does it or you do it by hand:
| Setting | What it covers | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Edge bores | dowels, PV shanks, Dominos into end grain | I drill them |
| Joinery bores in faces | dowels, PV pilots and housings, Dominos | done by the CNC |
| Grooves | back, bottom, sliding-door and shelf grooves, rebates | done by the CNC |
| Fitting bores | hinge cups, mounting plates, runners, shelf pins, line boring, handles | done by the CNC |
Edge bores need a machine with horizontal boring, so by default they are yours.
Preparing the parts
Every module starts with a “Prepare part” step per part – identical parts (say four equal plinth sides) share one step. The 3D view then shows only that part, flat, as a technical drawing in 3D:
- The edges are named (front, back, left, right, top, bottom – as the part sits in the piece).
- Every bore and groove is dimensioned from the nearer edge, as ordinate dimensions: one dimension line per reference edge, each value once.
- Bores in an end edge are dimensioned along that edge and sit centred in the board thickness.
On the right every operation is a card, marked CNC or by hand: what it is and how many, diameter and depth or the groove's width, depth and length, which face – and below, the positions as a small table: per row the distance that repeats (say “9 mm from bottom”), next to it the other distances by edge. Grooves are dimensioned to their flank; a groove at the edge is called a rebate.
Clicking a card lights up exactly those bores or that groove in orange in 3D and shows only their dimensions. “Show all dimensions” brings everything back. Below, the to-scale part drawing can be expanded.
Check what the CNC did; do everything marked by hand before assembling.
Order
The order follows the construction so nothing gets locked in:
- Plinth: prepare the parts, build and level it (before any load).
- Per carcass: prepare the parts, then bottom to left side, a captured back (while the second side is off), divider / middle shelf, right side, top or rails, a slide-in, rebated or overlay back, shelves.
- Drawer boxes once the carcass stands (ideally while its glue dries): prepare the parts, side with front and back piece, slide the bottom into its groove (or fit it on), add the second side and clamp it square. Identical boxes are built together.
- Fit the runners and insert the drawers, then fronts, doors, finally sliding doors.
- Set the carcasses on the plinth and screw them down.
- Prepare, build and fit the worktop.
Every connector is listed in exactly the step where its two parts meet; together the steps add up to the hardware list.
Not yet included: a print version, part labels and a second, following window – they come next.